Cons

DJI Mavic Pro and Zoom takes aerial photography to New Heights

DJI revealed Mavic 2 drones at an event in Brooklyn. DJI Mavic Pro and Zoom are the most advanced drones company has ever released. Both drones are quite similar to old DJI Mavic Pro drone. So, what are differences and improvements in these new drones and sets them apart from other? Let’s check out the review:

Features and Specifications:

Note that, DJI Mavic Pro and DJI Mavic ZOOM are identical to each other in terms of specifications. There is the only difference in their camera. So all specs and features mentioned are about both drones except only about the camera.

Mavic has so many improvements in software, sensors, and cameras compared to Mavic Pro. There is no big improvement in flight time and speed. As old Mavic Pro has 29 min flight time and Mavic has 31 min (2 min extra). Also, speed is faster 44 miles per hour than old 40 mph.

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About software – Mavic has DJI’s New ActiveTrack 2.0 which gives the ability to drone to follow moving subjects autonomously and with more accurately than before. Also, DJI has added the latest video transmission technology to both drones. It allows you to see what drones see with 1080p video transmission from miles away.

Mavic Pro has only front sensors to avoid obstacles from the front side. But these new drones have improved environmental sensing system. There are 10 sensors in drones which sense obstacles in omnidirectional and avoids it. These sensors are positioned on its front, back, left, right, top, and bottom side. This is a really great improvement in DJI drones.

Durability and Build Quality:

Mavic series has strong built quality drones and these new drones are no different. These new drones are slightly larger and heavier than old models. It has rock-solid construction, great build quality. It has a portable design and small enough to fit in a bag. When fully loaded, it weighs 297 gm only.

The build quality is so good that it can bear bumping into branches, trees or bushes. Also, you can fly it in rains or windy weather. There is no problem because of their build quality.

These drones have 8GB built-in storage and microSD slot for extra memory. There is USB Type-C port to update or share data and firmware between drone and computer.

Battery:

Because of aerodynamic design, DJI Mavic Pro and Zoom can fly a maximum of 31 minutes with a continuous speed of 7 miles (25kmph).

For charging the empty battery, it takes 45 to 50 minutes to full charge. It is slightly quicker than the previous generation.

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If the battery gets low during flight, you’ll get a loud alert from the app. For long videography, the company is offering a fly more combo ($319) which has 2 batteries, multi-battery charger, and extra propellers. So, you can swipe batteries for long time videography.

Piloting and Control:

Mavic is athletic, tight and supremely responsive in the air. With top-notch and extremely reliable flight software, you’ll enjoy the flight.

The controller works well with Android and iOS handsets. It has removable thumbsticks and also slots to safely store them.

Because of 10 sensors omnidirectional obstacle avoidance system, you can fly Mavic with confidence and fewer worries. There is also software alerts for crashing situations. For example, if you are about to crash, the beep sound will give you an alert. Still, if you ignore it, then the drone will auto-break and avoid the accident. It feels extremely safe and reliable to fly Mavic drones.

Camera:

DJI Mavic Pro and Zoom have different cameras. The Mavic Pro comes with a Hasselblad camera and 20 megapixels 1-inch CMOS sensor, whereas the Mavic Zoom is equipped with a smaller 1.3-inch sensor and a 24-48mm optical zoom lens.

Mavic Pro shooter is better because it has a larger sensor. Because of a larger sensor, it gives a better low-light performance, better image resolution, and better dynamic range. Also, the camera comes with an adjustable aperture. So, you can change or adjust the aperture to change the depth of field or control how much light comes in. For pro photographers and videographers this is a great function. For casual users, the automatic mode is just fine.

There is only thing Mavic 2 Pro cannot do is Zooming. And here comes the Mavic 2 Zoom drone. Zoom is also $200 less than Pro.

This drone has 2X optical zoom (24-48mm) and 2x digital zoom. It gives a closer view of faraway subjects, making unique scenes more accessible to capture at a distance. It is an important feature where scenes are risky. For example, wildlife photography. Where you can get amazing shots from a drone without going close to animals or disturbing them.

The new drones also feature some cool new hyper-lapse effects, as follows:

Free – pilots the drone manually while shooting a Hyperlapse video.

Circle – automatically flies the drone in a circular pattern around a subject you select to create a time-lapse video that captures the action.

Course Lock – keeps the camera fixed on shooting subject while the drone flies in a straight direction to create a unique perspective.

Waypoint – plans a complex flight path based on both altitude and GPS coordinates to capture complex shots.

There is more than zooming and hyper-lapse. Mavic 2 Zoom drone gives you more creative features for your videos. Check out the following examples:

If you shoot at 48mm and orbit yourself while you stand triumphantly on a hilltop, the camera will compress the perspective a bit and make the background appear to move at super speed. You can also zoom in or out while flying to create the infamous Dolly Zoom effect popularized by Alfred Hitchcock, which gives your videos a really cool look.

Should You Buy It??

If you want a drone which has a great color-rich 4K-HDR camera, superb build-quality then these are the drones for you. If you have a budget and can buy these drones then Hell Yes!! Go for It!!